


Third Time's a Charm

by jenbug (ladybug218)



Category: Supernatural, Ten Inch Hero, The West Wing
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-29 17:39:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladybug218/pseuds/jenbug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Priestly doesn't have very good luck with dates</p>
            </blockquote>





	Third Time's a Charm

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Yuletide 2008

**It Could Have Been So Beautiful**

First dates, by their nature, are uncomfortable; Full of small talk, self-doubt and awkward silences. Priestly isn't much a fan of dating in general, but he's doing a favor for his mother and taking her friend's niece to some school dance. His hair is slicked back, his tattoos are covered and he's wearing a stiff suit that makes him feel like some kind of imposter.

He pulls up at the address he's been given and double checks it twice. No one told him that he'd be picking his date up at a bar. He pushes the door open, tentatively, and walks inside. The woman behind the bar does a double take and asks, "You must be Boaz."

"Yes, ma'am," he says, groaning inwardly at her use of his given name.

"Joanna Beth, get your ass out here. Your date's here."

The girl who walks out of the back room is wearing a sour expression that likely matches the one on his face. She fidgets with her dress and it's obvious that she's just as uncomfortable in formal wear as he is. "Hi," he says, offering her the corsage his mother had chosen. "I'm Priestly."

"Jo," she replies, slipping the elastic over her wrist.

He holds doors for her all evening, despite her glares and protests that she is quite capable of opening them herself. He offers to get her punch from the refreshment table and she tells him that she doesn't trust him not to slip something in her drink. He asks her to dance and she says that if he puts his hands in any untoward places, she has absolutely no compunction about shooting him.

All in all, he's grateful when he drops her back off at the Roadhouse. He escorts her inside, like a proper gentleman, and then hightails it out of there, glad he'll never have to see her again.

**Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action**

He's not the type of guy who picks up chicks in bars. Or, well, anywhere. Most girls don't go for guys like him. So when the blonde slides into the seat across from him, his eyebrows raise involuntarily, causing him to wince thanks to his new piercing.

"Did you know that the human stomach gets a new lining every three days?" she asks. "So in three days you'll have fresh new stomach lining that is untouched by alcohol."

Priestly sets his glass down and studies her for a long moment before responding. It's obvious that she's attractive from a quick glance, but a further look reveals shadows under her eyes and nervous energy releasing itself through a bouncing left knee. "That's... interesting."

"I know. And did you know that babies aren't born with kneecaps?" she continues. "They develop between the ages of two and six."

"Have we met?" he finally asks. Because she's acting like she knows him and it's entirely possible that he met her at some point in the past and doesn't remember. He doesn't think he knows a lot of people in Minnesota though. One of the main reasons he came here.

Her cheeks redden. "No, sorry, I'm Donnatella Moss, but you can call me Donna."

He nods. "Do you often strike up conversations with random strangers in bars, Donna?"

"You looked nice."

That's a first. He usually gets told that he looks like a hoodlum. "You have a unique sense of reality."

"I get that a lot," she says. "I think it's because I have no idea what I'm doing with my life."

That's an all too familiar feeling and Priestly becomes distinctly uncomfortable. "Don't think you're going to figure it out in a place like this," he remarks.

"Probably not," she agrees. "But I can have fun trying." She drains her beer bottle and jumps up. "I'm going to get a refill. You want anything?"

"No thanks," he says. As soon as she's out of sight in the crowd, he throws a few bills on the table and heads for the exit. All he wanted tonight was a quiet beer, not an existential crisis.

**A Moment Like This**

Priestly runs a nervous hand over his hair. He's not used to his new style and Jen gave him a hard time about cutting it, reminding him of his speech about judging people's appearances. He tried to explain his actions to Jen and Piper, but even he's not sure exactly what drove him to the whole Queer Eye for the Straight Guy makeover. He just knew that he had to finally take the plunge and ask Tish out. If he's honest with himself, he would admit that he never expected her to say yes, even with his haircut and Banana Republic clothes. Jen and Piper insist that she would have said yes even without the style change, but he's not sure they're right.

The last four hours have been the longest of his life. Trucker let Tish cut out of work early to get ready, but he stuck around to hang out, hoping it would make him less nervous. It didn't really work and his hand clenches a few times before he finally lifts his fist to knock on Tish's door. Before he makes contact, Tish pulls it open. "Sorry, Priestly, I was afraid you were going to take off without knocking and work would have been really awkward if you had done that."

"Because you and your friends would have had so much fun calling me a wimp?" he asks.

Tish rolls her eyes. "No, dumbass, because I would have kicked your ass. Do you want to come in for a minute? I need to put on my shoes and then I'm ready to go."

Priestly nods and steps inside, finally taking a good look at her. Her hair is hanging loose and wavy around her shoulders, she's wearing a strapless sundress in a deep pink that complements her skin tone and she smells like fresh baked cookies. His stomach twists and he realizes that he's going to blow this and blow it big. There is no way possible that he is good enough for this girl. He's going to need to find a new job. New friends. A new life. Because he's in love with Tish and he knows that she will never love him back.

"Okay, I'm ready to go, Boaz," she says, grinning at him playfully.

Her grin is infectious and some of the tension flows out of his shoulders. "Best news I've had all day, Platicia."

She threads her arm through his and gives it a little squeeze. It's enough to make him think that maybe, just maybe, they will be able to make this work.


End file.
